Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee cleared to play against Patriots

Sean Lee is ready to return to the field on Sunday against the Patriots.

He has passed the necessary concussion protocol after leaving last week’s game against New Orleans with a concussion in the first quarter. It marked another injury in the long list of them for Lee, and being on the sidelines is an all too familiar feeling for Lee.

"It's brutal,” said Lee, who is tied for the team lead with 37 tackles. “It's something that I've done too much. I need to be on the field more. I've found my way off the field too consistently and it's something that eats at you. At the same point, you have to move on from it and that's in the past.

“You can't allow that to affect weeks coming forward and especially this week. So, it's frustrating at the time, but you have to move on. And I'm healthy to go and excited to play."

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The Cowboys will also have linebacker Rolando McClain available. McClain will be making his first appearance this season after a four-game suspension.

Cowboys LB Rolando McClain was back with the team before the New England game in 2016 after serving a four game suspension. Video by Drew Davison.

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Facing New England carries a little extra meaning for Lee, as well. When he was 8- or 9-years-old, he met then-Cleveland Browns coach Bill Belichick through a family friend.

It remains a memorable experience for Lee, and Belichick even recalled the encounter earlier this week.

"I think just being around guys, big guys running around, and watching NFL players. Something like that was amazing,” Lee said. “I didn't know the game as well obviously. I was a little young to understand it."

Said Belichick, who has since become a four-time Super Bowl winning head coach with the Patriots: “I remember him when he was just a little guy. …He's a heck of a football player, really smart, really instinctive and very productive. It seems like he makes 10 tackles every game.

“I mean, I don't know what the numbers are, but he's in on a lot of plays and he's got his hands on a lot of balls."